West Chester’s own Westtown School can claim a large stake in the success of state Sen. and Philly mayoral candidate Anthony Hardy Williams, who cherished his Quaker boarding school education and went on to eventually found the Hardy Williams Academy in honor of his father and become an outspoken proponent of charter school choice, even as he rubbed shoulders with public school-supporting fellow Democrats, according to a recent feature in The Daily Pennsylvanian.

“In 1997, Williams was one of the lone Democrats to join Republicans in the bill allowing charter schools to form in Pennsylvania,” the article noted. “More recently in 2010, Williams introduced a bill in the Pennsylvania Legislature that mandated vouchers for poor students in underperforming schools. Three Republicans cosponsored the bill with Williams. Such bipartisan action on education has made Williams the darling of some conservative elites.”

That bipartisan track record sets Williams apart from the rest of the mayoral field, but it doesn’t necessarily clinch votes in the eyes of Philly families struggling with bigger issues.

“For Williams to become Philadelphia’s next mayor,” the article stated, “he will have to transcend the polarized debate [about charter schools] and tackle” structural issues like poverty, which charter school reform doesn’t address.

Read more about Williams’ record as a champion of charter schools and the context surrounding the current debate in The Daily Pennsylvanian here.